tRNA fragments have recently been discovered to have important functions in mosquito Aedes aegypti. Susanta K. Behura of the University of Missouri, and colleagues investigated tRF abundance in the Ae. aegypti mosquito, which is the primary global vector of a number of human diseases, including dengue fever, yellow fever, and Zika fever.

The researchers profiled the expression of tRFs in different Ae. aegypti samples that varied in sex, strain, developmental stage, and exposure to dengue virus, blood, or antibiotics. The findings suggested that biogenesis of small regulatory fragments from tRNA can have wide ranging effects on key aspects of Ae. aegypti vector biology.